Coles vs Woolworths… Why pay $10 when you can pay… $9.88?!

The supermarket war of Coles versus Safeway/Woolworths has heated up, with roast chicken.

First, Coles went to $10.

…then Safeway/Woolworths struck back with… $9.88.

These posters were prominently displayed en masse around the Bentleigh Woolworths last night.

“Why pay $10” “Only $9.88”?

TWELVE CENTS DIFFERENCE?

Or to put it in percentage terms, Woolies are 1.2% cheaper.

And if you pay cash for just the chicken, the price will be rounded up to $9.90, so you’re only saving ten cents.

Did Woolworths design the poster before they knew what their price would be or something? It’s one thing to advertise your product — it’s quite another to highlight that the saving compared to your competition is a measly twelve cents.

If you are tempted by this extra special offer, don’t spend it all at once.

Probably the message Woolies is making is: “Woolworths is always cheaper than Coles”. But I don’t think I’ll waste $5 in petrol driving to another store to save 10 cents.
Regarding meagre savings, I think Coles is worse. I’ve seen “Special” tags on items in Coles where you save one cent.

(Climbing on to her moral high horse with little justification) – can you imagine how much money they spent on those ‘we beat you, Coles’ posters? Money that could have been used to reduce the price of other groceries?

I saw them around ours on Saturday and had the same thought about what was the point? I hadn’t seen the Coles ones either. I could only guess then that maybe each store had different prices and we were just one of the dearest, otherwise it was just lame.

Since I’m in NSW and your store is in Vic so it seems to be a standard price, I can only go with the latter now! ;-)

I remember when you bought your roast chicken from a take away, and your milk from a Milk bar or local grocery store. It’s a bit sad that the big 2 are heading towards being the only operators for your daily needs in town. They tried doing prescriptions to get rid of the chemists (which will happen eventually), one day these companies will provide everything you need to live and any competition will be long gone, don’t you love free market capitalism.

@Dogs Breath, I agree it’s a bit sad, and I’d hate to see the day when the Big 2 drive out all the competition. But depending on where you live, it’s often still possible to avoid the Big 2. I do still shop there for some things, but I’ve found alternatives to the Big 2 for a great many of my needs.

I get milk, cream, butter, yoghurt, and eggs delivered to my door by Aussie Farmers Direct. They offer many other products as well, of varying quality (I’m not much impressed by their breads, for instance), but the dairy and eggs are perfectly fine.

I grow some fruit and veg myself, and get the rest from a very good fruit shop a short tram ride away. I go a little further afield, but still only a tram ride away, for fresh pasta and fresh fish. Within walking distance, I have an excellent butcher, a bakery that is just average overall but makes very good pane di casa, and two truly fantastic takeaway places: one does charcoal chicken and chips, the other makes the best falafel in Melbourne. I’m getting hungry just thinking about them.

Granted, I live in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, so good food places are never all that far away. But I sometimes think that people do most of their shopping at the Big 2 purely because it’s convenient to get the whole thing over with in one hit, and there’s lots of parking. They never really explore their suburb, or surrounding suburbs, to see if there are any other options. Sure, it can take more time, and it can be more expensive. But I think it’s worth it. If we just passively let the Big 2 take over, we’ll deserve what we get.